The Silver Birch Inn

[Novnarwen]

Nova

Nova saw a young lady ride away from the Inn in a hurry, as she made her way into the Inn. She made her way to the stable, leaving her beloved horse in apparently good care. She climbed some stairs before she as quietly as possible, slid through the door, finding herself a nice spot at one of the benches. The merry atmosphere made Nova feel extra comfortable, even though she didn't know anyone. In fact, this was the first time here.

"Would you like something?” A woman in front of her asked Nova. At first she wasn't aware that someone had asked her something, and felt quite embarrassed for her little mistake.

"Sorry, what did you ask?" Nova asked.

The woman in front of her repeated the question, now being just a little impatient.

"Oh, yes.. Could I have a bowl of soup and some bread to go with it?" Nova requested politely. The woman nodded, and approved. "Will be back within moments," she said, leaving Nova's table in a hurry.

Nova sat staring around in the room. She looked through the window, eyeing the sun, whose golden light lit up the room. She sat like this, leaving her thoughts to Fedwe, her hobbit friend, who was soon to arrive as well.

[silverdream]

Silver entered through the front door, but came in as quietly as possible. She had been away for some time now, it was true - things had changed suddenly, things in Rohan. The Land of the Horse-Lords would always lie close to the woman's heart. But she had not told the others she would have to leave, her departure having been hasty, a few belongings packed together with speed, a note to each of them in her distinctive, spidery hand and trademark silver-blue pen left somewhere personal she knew each of them would find it. And no more. A month had passed, she knew, and although she was back now, she wasn't sure what reception she would recieve.

Looking around the Common Room, she noted none of the others were here, but there were customers dotted around the room, groups of them talking together energetically. One green eye alighted on a lonely-looking woman by the window, sitting alone. Well, now was as good a time as ever...

"Would you like something?"

A pause, then the woman looked around quickly, realising Silver had spoken to her, and she blushed slightly. "Sorry, what did you ask?"

Silver smiled. "Would you like something? To eat or drink?"

"Oh...yes...eh, could I have a bowl of soup and some bread to go with it?"

Silver inclined her head to the polite, slightly hesitant reply, and crossed the room towards the kitchen. As she crossed the centre of the room, she happened to glance up, and saw, on the top floor, the feet and long, silky hair of one she would always recognise. Elentari. She smiled slightly, then it faded a little - how glad would the elf be to see her?

Sighing, she continued to the kitchen, taking off her cloak as she did so and hanging it on one of the pegs by the kitchen door as she swung it open.

[Alatáriel]

Alatariel was still dazed, as the lady left suddenly. She didnt even get to say goodbye. Alatariel felt she should have said something, maybe she would not have left.

Alatariel left the table and went to the bar. She ordered another ale, paying for it, and wondered about the lady. She seemed so mysterious, not even telling Alatariel her name. She sighed and tried to brush the thought out of her head. She thought about pointless thoughts... not that she could recall any memories from her past. There was only one, she replayed it over and over in her mind, and yet it seemed to get fainter and fainter. Alatariel ignored that too and sipped the ale.

[silverdream]

Silver brought back the food to the woman with a smile - the kitchen had been empty, strangely, and Silver wondered with a pang what had happened to Robin. Her prescence seemed strangely absent...

"I hope you enjoy your meal," Silver murmured routinely, then felt bad about it somehow - it was so impersonal. Glancing up through the hole around the birch in the centre of the room, Silver saw the feet shift slightly, as Elentari moved slowly to the right a step or two. Silver could imagine her now - her fingers tracing lightly across the spines of the books on the third level up, at chest level - books, not scrolls, but transcribed from scrolls mostly. These were the ones Elentari usually looked at, more than a few of them Silver's own work, and they ranged over many subjects. The Rohirrim woman wondered with a secretive smile whether the elf would ever look higher, to where Silver had a surprise for her, ready to be unveiled but...not yet...

Turning to go, Silver was surprised to feel pressure on her arm and looked down to where the woman had grabbed her wrist. She gave the woman a questioning, but not unfriendly look, surprised but not worried.

"May I help you...?" she left a space where the woman's name would be, and the latter seemed almost glad of this, grinning suddenly and briefly.

"Nova. Call me Nova. But...what can I call you? Who are you?"

There was something strange about the woman's questioning that was strange, almost desperate. Lost... And how was Silver to answer? She had almost said she was an Innkeeper here but..was she any more?

"Silver. Call me Silver." She smiled.

[Ophelia]

At the Silver Birch entering road there was a strange scene to be seen - a lady in kind of a dirty violet came with a limp horse at one hand and saddle in the other . Looking like this the lady went to the stables and asked for a bandage and some ice . After making a compresse of ice to the horse and placing the saddle somewhere she went to the inn trying to clean the dirt off her clothes by the way . And in she went .
As she made her way through to the bar she noticed Nova and Silverdream . And ofcourse Alatiriel who was standing near by . She ordered a pint of ale and looked around to see if there is somebody to talk to .

[Elentari]

Elentari brushed the dust from a thick book. Turning a few pages she smiled, remembering the neat flowing scipt of Silver's hand. Elentari missed having the Rohirrim woman around. She had been an essential part of the team, yet Elentari missed her as a friend as well as a collegue. A sigh escaped from the elf's lips as she returned the book as she took a few steps to her right to order more of the books. She glanced up at the top self for a moment, then continued to wipe the dust off another book. Her eyes gradually moved back up to the top self. She had never looked at the books from there. Elentari fetched the ladder and began to climb it when a soft breeze from the open Inn door carried a familiar voice to her ears...

Jumping down the last few steps, Elentari landed on the second level up. She ran towards the next steps, apologised as she bumped into someone, then ran down the stairs, tripping over her own feet on the last step and went flying.

"Still running around like a child?" said the familiar voice, though not unkindly. "Act your age Elentari!"

"Silver!" exclaimed Elentari as she got to her feet. She suddenly noticed that Silver had company. "Oh, my apologies. Welcome to the Silver Birch."

"This is Nova," said Silver. "Nova, this is Elentari, the owner of this Inn."

[silverdream]

Silver caught Elentari as she stumbled headlong towards them after tripping, a faint smile forming on her lips. "Still running around like a child?" she spoke mock-chidingly, grinning. "Act your age Elentari!"

Elentari's eyes flashed slightly with indignance as she straightened up before she fully realised to whom the voice belonged, and she gasped, her eyes widening and a shocked smile on her face."Silver!" She seemed about to say more, other words evidently forming in her mouth, but when she saw Nova, she reigned them back for politeness sake. "Oh, my apologies. Welcome to the Silver Birch." She smiled in that courteous but energetic way Silver remembered. As ever, everything about Elentari was energetic, Silver thought with a smile.

"This is Nova," Silver gave the reply to Elentari's unspoken question, gesturing as she spoke towards the woman who she herself had only become acquainted with a few moments ago, then she did the same for Nova regarding Elentari. "Nova, this is Elentari, the owner of this Inn."

Nova looked vaguely surprised, taking another sip of her ale. "There is more than one Innkeeper?"

Both of the others nodded, and Silver elaborated. "In a way, in a way. Oh, El, that reminds me," she said, snapping her fingers and fixing the elf with her green gaze. "What has become of Robin, Robin Brandybuck?"

[Alatáriel]

Alatariel noticed a few people talking. For some reason, she felt sad. In trying to search the memories, she had so often wondered, and never known. She sighed and sipped the ale.

She noticed the three; they seemed very happy. Alatariel sighed and left for her room. There she sat by the window, setting down her bag. Her eyes became lazy, focusing on nothing. Once more, she was deep in thought.

[Ophelia]

Ophelia`s eyes went all misty when she saw the happy faces of the three ladies near her . She missed the times and places where she was recepted as well . "If only my horse wouldn`t have fallen , I would be dashing towards all these memories to re-live them... " was what she thought to herself .
It seemed strange - the room was full of people but there was noone at the same time .
To make her feel at the least a bit closer to homelands she ordered half a dozen of chockolate muffins and took her pint of ale , and with a strange look on her a bit scrached face she went to the door and went out to sit on the doorstep and ease her homesickness and lack of company with muffins and drawn the sadness in the ale .

[Nurumaiel]

"What has become of Robin, Robin Brandybuck?"

Silver had just barely finished asking the question when a tired voice piped up behind her, "I'm here, Miss Silver." And Robin was indeed there, looking very sleepy and very worried.

"There you are, Robin," Silver said. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you anywhere."

"I hope you won't be too angry, Miss Silver, but I sat down for a few moments to rest my legs and I fell asleep." She blushed deeply and looked down. "I hope you'll forgive me. Cooking in a busy inn is still very new to me." Her head came up again, and her eyes clearly portrayed the worry she was feeling. "And, Miss Silver, I've been looking all over for you. I don't know what time it is, what to cook, or even if I should cook at all! If you could assist me in some way, that would be wonderful."

Silver opened her mouth to speak, smiling kindly at the hobbit lass, but Robin wasn't done. "And, by the way, Miss Silver," she said, "I hope you won't think it bold of me to ask, but I must, no matter what your answer is. After I've finished cooking a meal and everyone is served, I wonder... I wonder if I could come out in the common room and listen to some conversations. It is rather difficult being cooped up in the kitchen all day, especially when there isn't anything to do, and I do long to hear some news of what is going on outside of the kitchen. I do clean up after cooking very fast, you know."

[silverdream]

Aman blinked. "By the Valar, I'm not a tyrant, Robin!" She grinned, bending to hug her friend, who returned it warmly. "Of course, of course - I was simply worried when I couldn't find you - The Birch wouldn't be the same without you!"

Silver excused herself from Nova, leaving her in Elentari's capable company, and went towards the kitchen with Robin, both chatting as they went, for there was much to catch up on.

[Nurumaiel]

"Of course you're not a tyrant, Silver," Robin murmured as they went towards the kitchen. "It's just that... well, I did go on a large adventure once, you know, to get food from Rivendell for the starving hobbits*, and there was so much danger and even death. I couldn't trust anyone but those who were in our own company." Her voice trailed off and she looked down. "I guess I never recovered from all that. One of my cousins died."

Silver made no reply to that final statement, which sent a thrill through Robin. She disliked being told, "I'm sorry" whenever a misfortune fell on her. She could not help but think that was just politeness and that there wasn't really any sincerity. But when someone was silent, Robin felt that perhaps there was an understanding.

"Well, Robin," Silver said after a few moments. Robin's blue eyes travelled up to Silver's face. They were full of uncertainty and worry. "Well, Robin," Silver repeated, "I suppose you had better just consider the staff of the Silver Birch as your company. That's really what we are, you know."

Robin's face lit up and she smiled warmly. They entered the kitchen, and by a quick glance around one could easily see that Robin's previous statement had been true. The kitchen was amazingly clean, with all the dishes and pots washed and put neatly away and the counters seeming to sparkle. Silver looked pleased, but Robin did not. She sighed and ran a finger over the polished counter.

"What's wrong, Robin?" Silver asked gently. "You seem disturbed about something."

"It's nothing," Robin replied, but Silver gazed steadily at her. "Oh," she said, sighing once again. "It's just Dinodas. I wonder how he's doing in his work and everything. It's just rather hard."

Silver nodded. Robin shook her head dismally, then forced a smile on her face. "Well, Miss Silver," she began, but stopped abruptly as she caught the innkeeper's eyes. She started again, correcting herself. "Well, Silver, what would you like me to cook?"

^{*This adventure is available for reading and is entitled The Long Winter}

[Dragoneyes]

Hal was still staring at the the thick trunk of the birch, it was good to relax. He shook his head and came out of his stupor at last. He glanced around and noticed that everything had changed, well, perhaps just everyone. There were a few he recognised, but even more that he didn't. He looked suspiciously at the ale mug in his hand and put it down, pushing it away from him slightly. How long had he been wandering in his own thoughts? Not that he remembered any of the thoughts he'd been wandering in. No, that was a lie, he'd recognised something, but wasn't too sure what it was, something familiar.

He shrugged it off and hopped down from his stool, it would come to him in time. He wandered in the real world for a time and found just leaning against the silver trunk and staring up to the roof quite entertaining, if not a little dizzying. What was the point of a building being so tall? Just another thing to ponder on the long travelling nights.

"What's wrong Robin?" A voice carried over to Hal from a corner of the room. Of course, lots of voices had been carrying to him, it wasn't like the place was silent, but this one stuck out, it had a ring of familiarity. The sound wasn't familiar as such, but what it had said. He decided to leave it though, eavesdropping was not a polite thing to do.

"It's just Dinodas..." Hal's head snapped up. That was a voice he recognised and the name, and it was not a common name. He couldn't help but look over to the corner, eavesdropping or no. He couldn't contain his excitement as he took in the scene in the corner. Robin was standing there, clear as day. Robin Brandybuck with whom he had shared his adventure.

Hal was just a blur of a hobbit when he crossed the room at top speed. Robin looked up just in time to see two arms grab her and squeeze her in a tight hug.

"Wha?" Robin managed to say to the startled people around her. Hal jumped back nearly as quickly as he had run up to her.

"Beggin' your pardon Robin," he said to Robin, "Ladies." he directed to the others standing around. "I just saw Robin and couldn't help myself, been quite a time since I were last able to have a good talk with you is all."

[Nurumaiel]

"Hal?" Robin stared in wonder and the hobbit before her. A laugh of delight escaped her. "Halwon Cotton! I really don't believe it." She returned his hug warmly, then turned to Silver. "This is Halwon Cotton," she said. "He was one of the company that went to Rivendell with Dinodas and I."

"How are you two, by the way?" Hal asked. "Is Dinodas here, too?"

A little frown came to Robin's face and she shook her head. Perching herself up on the counter, she said, "No, he's in Bree, and will be for a few more years. His mother isn't very well, you know, and his father is taking care if her. You remember Dinodas' sister, Ann? The one who came and wished us luck so sweetly? She would have been pleased to look after her mother, but she's thinking of getting married herself, I think. So, as Mr. Green is taking care of his wife, there is no one to work and support the family, save Dinodas. He's working as an inn server."

"I see," said Hal. "That was very generous of Dinodas."

"Yes, he loves his family so much." A dreamy smile came to Robin's face. "He's wonderful." Drawing herself away from her memories of Dinodas, she pointed to a chair and gestured for Hal to sit down. "I'm the cook here," she said.

"Are you?" he asked, making a little face.

"Yes, I know I used to be awful, but I've been taught a little and I'm very much better. You'll just have to wait and see." She laughed. "Now, Hal, how's yourself? And Gaddy and Daisy? Are they married yet?"

[Ophelia]

It was geting dark and Ophelia had finished her muffins and ale and had started to feel cold nad lonely . She didn`t want it too much but she had to go inside right back to all that crowd of people laughing and talking and making her sader . All of this was off her plans . She lingered at the doorstep but then she started to shiver and understood it was too cold to stay here . The door opened and warm air crushed gently in her face . Ophelia took a long breath and went inside . There she saw two hobbits standing there joyfully talking there and all the others she left there standing and laughing . Everybody was merry and joyful . The last conversation she had in this inn had ended so unusually and that made her feel like a total stranger to these people . She passes the two happy hobbits and went to the bar to ask for some hot tea to warm her up . While waiting for the tea she listened to the conversation the two hobbits made and the named names she heard seemed familiar . She knew she had ridden through hobbit lands but still couldn`t remeber where have she heard those names . When the tea was put in front of her she didn`t want to leave but to listen to the talking of these friends and that would keep her from feeling really lonely .